Wake Up
by multicoloredmango
Summary: A short and sad story about how Mikey and his brothers deal with Klunk's death.
1. Chapter 1

**Okay, so maybe I should be writing my other story, but I had this idea and just needed to write it all out before I forgot. It's really a one-shot, but it'll have two chapters 'cause I feel that it needs a break in the middle. This is written for anyone who has lost a pet, including me... Oh yeah, and tell me what you think! Enjoy!**

Mikey yawned and stretched as he put down the game controller he had been abusing for the past three hours. He looked around, twisting himself on the couch. From what he saw, the lair looked empty, but he knew that Don, Leo, and Raph were there just doing their own thing privately. If he listened close enough, he could hear the _buzz_ and _whir_ of one of Don's machines he had been working on for the past week, as well as the steady beat of Raph beating the stuffing out of the punching bag in the dojo. And of course, it was the lack of sound that proved Leo was meditating in his room. Otherwise, Mikey knew he'd be able to hear the _shing_ of swords or Leo's nagging voice if he was doing anything else. Mikey knew that Splinter wasn't there today, though—he was visiting the Daimyo for a few days again. Mikey couldn't blame him, either; ever since a month ago, things had really started to calm down. Althought the Purple Dragons were still causing trouble now and again, there really hadn't been any serious battles. Mikey wondered if this peace would keep up when he heard another familiar sound.

His stomach growled loudly, and Mikey chuckled a bit before getting up and walking to the kitchen. After satisfying his appetite with some leftover pizza, he lazily looked at the clock on the wall…and instantly remembered that he was supposed to feed Klunk forty-five minutes ago! After grabbing a large bag of kibble, he swiftly made his way to his room and found the orange cat on his floor, sprawled out in a sleeping position.

"Hey Klunkers, time for dinner," he said in a sing-song voice. He walked to the other side of the messy room and loudly poured the kibble into Klunk's bowl, expecting his cat to hear the noise and scamper over. But as he turned around, he saw that Klunk had still remained in the same position. Curiously, he sauntered over to his cat and crouched down in front of it. "Klunk?" he said. Mikey reached down and placed a hand on Klunk to pet him, but quickly pulled his hand back and stared at his cat with wide eyes.

Klunk had felt hard and stiff, and this foreign sensation made Mikey get a sick feeling in the pit of his stomach. Hesitantly, he touched his cat again and was met with the same feeling as before. Klunk still hadn't opened his eyes…and his body was still ridged, still…cold. No, it couldn't be—Klunk was fine that morning, and he wouldn't just die like this, not with so many things to do and see and eat…_he just couldn't be—_!

Mikey opened his mouth to speak but couldn't seem to find his voice. He was trembling slightly from shock and no matter how hard he tried all that came out was a muffled squeak. He felt like it was one of those dreams he had where he wasn't able to order his body to do what he wanted. Terrified, he came to the crazy conclusion that he must be dreaming, that none of what he saw was real. Klunk was alive, he reasoned; he was having a nightmare and he had to get out. _He had to get out._

"Wake up," he whispered, putting his hands on his head. He stared angrily at the pitiful form of Klunk below him. "Wake up, wake up…" Mikey whispered fiercely, over and over. It was still not working, and in blind rage, Mikey started to scream out his chant. He banged his hands against his head attempting to snap himself out of the twisted dream.

Alerted by the desperate screams, Leo, Raph, and Don all dropped what they were doing and ran into Mikey's room to find their brother kneeling in front of Klunk's unmoving body, screaming and hitting himself. Instantly, Raph and Leo darted to Mikey and held his arms to restrain him from hurting himself further.

"Mikey, what's wrong?" Don yelled, trying to quiet down his brother.

"Let GO!" Mikey screeched, instinctively pulling away from Raph and Leo. "I have to wake up! Wake up!"

"Mikey, it's us!" Raph shouted over his brother's incessant cries. He was distraught over the fact that Mikey didn't even know that his brothers were trying to help him.

"Stop this, Mikey!" Leo said, having a difficult time with holding his brother down. "You have to calm down!"

Don looked to Klunk, who had been stock-still the entire time, and made the same heart-breaking realization that Mikey had come to not long ago. "Raph, Leo!" he raised his voice over those of his three brothers, trying to get their attention. He took a breath and said, "Klunk is…dead."

Suddenly, everything snapped into perspective for Leo and Raph and they whipped their heads over to the orange cat that lay in front of them. They sadly looked back to their traumatized brother whose strength had deteriorated to the point where all he could do was cry pitifully.

"It's only a dream so wake up!" Mikey cried. "Wake up! W-wake up, dammit!" Mikey stopped his frantic chant as he broke into another sobbing fit.

Raph, Leo, and Don couldn't bear to see the youngest brother in such a miserable state, but they knew that this time, nothing could be done for Klunk. Don couldn't fix him, for he could only do that for machines. Leo couldn't protect him from harm because death had already come. Raph couldn't beat up the one responsible, as the intangible enemy of old age was impossible to defeat. Pulled out of their self-pity, Raph and Leo tensed as Mikey gave one final attempt to struggle out of their grip.

"Wake up! YOU GOTTA WAKE UP!" Mikey shrieked hoarsely. He wheezed, wincing at the soreness of his throat from all the shouting. With all his energy spent, he sagged in his brothers' arms, breathing hard.

At this point, Don wasn't sure if Mikey had referred to Klunk or himself, but he guessed it was probably both. He watched Mikey's cat sorrowfully, and closed his eyes tightly when a familiar sting came as tears fell down his face. Raph and Leo had started to cry as well, against their own silent wishes.

"It's a—it's a-a dr-dream," Mikey still chocked out between sobs. He kept shaking his head back and forth, and his hot tears sprinkled onto the floor below. After a minute of crying hysterically, neither Klunk nor Mikey had 'woken up' from the tragic nightmare. Mikey silently stared at his cat through teary eyes, finally accepting the inevitable. His chest heaved violently and he let out a high-pitched shriek. "KLUUUUUUNK!"


	2. Chapter 2

After a long silence, Don nervously spoke up. "Mikey?" he said softly, hoping he would get a response.

Mikey sniffled and looked at Don with red, puffy eyes. "Donnie? I…" he gave a confused frown and turned around, noticing his two other brothers. Slowly, Raph and Leo released Mikey's arms from their strong hold.

"Mikey…" Don continued, "…I'm so sorry."

Mikey looked down to Klunk and gave a shaky sigh. He rubbed his eyes and sat back into Raph and Leo, exhausted. "He was my best friend," he whispered. "I didn't wanna lose him."

"Yeah, we know," Leo said. He wrapped his arms around Mikey and pulled him into a hug. Raph and Don nudged closer and did the same.

MIkey whimpered and hugged back tightly. "Why did he have to…" he trailed off with a pained grimace and rested his head on Raph's plastron.

"He was an adult when you found him," Don reasoned gently. "So he probably…passed on from old age." Don knew that Mikey was going to need a lot of support to get him back to his cheerful self, and that it would take time. Raph and Leo understood this as well.

"It's not fair," Mikey said in a gruff voice.

Leo, Raph, and Don couldn't really argue with thier brother on that point, so they stayed silent for a moment longer, still wrapped tightly around the youngest. The three turtle brothers could finally feel Mikey start to relax, and they felt a bit more relieved.

"Why don't we get you some tea and we can discuss a few things, okay?" Leo encouraged. Mikey nodded silently.

"C'mon, buddy," Raph said as he lifted Mikey up. He could still feel Mikey shaking slightly, so he kept a protective arm around him as he and Leo lead their brother to the kitchen.

Don stayed behind to take Klunk into his lab then joined his brothers a few minutes later. He entered the kitchen to see Leo hand Mikey a steaming cup of tea. He sat himself down next to Mikey, with Raph on the other side. Under the kitchen light, Don could finally see the extent of the stress that Klunk's death had on Mikey. His little brother was pale, and the bloodshot eyes stood out from the lighter skin tone. The turtle wore a solemn frown that Don and his brothers did not like at all—they couldn't even remember a time when Mikey looked so miserable; he used to cry a lot as a kid, but this was on an entirely different level.

The room stayed quiet, save for the sound Mikey made when he sipped his hot tea. The three older brothers looked at each other, lost. They had no idea what to say.

It was Mikey who broke the unnerving silence. "Umm…sorry I kinda freaked out," he said. "And thanks for the tea."

"It's okay, Mikey, you don't have to apologize," Don answered, comfortingly squeezing Mikey's shoulder. "We understand."

"And you're welcome," Leo added.

"So…ya wanna talk about Klunk now?" Raph asked awkwardly.

Mikey cast his eyes down to his cup. "Yeah," he replied quietly. "I was thinking that we should find a good place to bury him."

"Okay, do you have anywhere in mind?" Don prodded.

"Well maybe…" Mikey pondered seriously. "You know the park—or not really a park I guess, more like a garden or something—that's near the junkyard?"

Don and Leo looked a bit confused, but Raph had the idea. "Ya mean the one with that big 'ol tree 'n the center of it?" Mikey nodded earnestly.

"Oh yeah, I remember now," Don said.

"Didn't you used to take Klunk there once in a while?" Leo asked.

Mikey nodded again. "Yeah, and every time we went there he always climbed up that tree and…" he started to chuckle a bit, "…and he never was able to come down without my help." Mikey stopped for a moment as fresh tears made their way down his still smiling face. Raph put an arm around Mikey comfortingly, while Don and Leo patted his shell. "I-It was like he knew that I'd always be there for him." Mikey stopped to rub his eyes.

"Well I guess he was a pretty smart cat, then," Leo soothed.

Mikey gave a wide smile at the comment and said, "Of course he was! I could like, always tell he knew exactly what I was saying, and he was an awesome listener. And remember when he coughed up a huge hair ball on Raph's shell-cycle? Totally on purpose, that little rascal."

"Hey, ya said it was an accident that time!" Raph exclaimed, and gave a playful shove.

"Oh yeah, I forgot. Oops," Mikey said with a mischievous grin. And just like that, the tense atmosphere was cleared. Raph, Leo and Don were relieved; they had their Mikey back.

"So, do you want to bury Klunk there?" Don questioned guiltily. He really didn't want to get back to the serious issue, but knew that it had to be dealt with immediately.

Mikey's smile faltered and he rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "Umm, yeah. I think…I think he'd like that."

"Okay, let's get ready then," Leo said. After giving a reassuring pat on Mikey's head, he motioned to Don and the two made their way out of the kitchen and into the lab where Klunk was.

Raph let Mikey sit in the kitchen for a couple minutes longer before practically dragging his brother out to put on thier street clothes. Finally, the four siblings met at the entrance to the lair in their large coats and hats. Don presented a black, wooden box to Mikey while Leo gave one of the two shovels he was holding to Raph.

Solemnly, the turtles made their way to the garden-like area Mikey had described and finally stopped in front of the large tree. Raph and Leo used their shovels to dig a reasonably sized hole and looked back to Mikey when they were done. They watched as the youngest slowly walked forward and placed the black box into the freshly dug earth. He started to cry a bit, frozen in his crouched position over Klunk's grave. An exasperated sigh sounded from behind him, and without warning Mikey was pulled up into a one-armed hug from none other than his hotheaded brother. Mikey tensed for a second, surprised by Raph's kindness, but held on fiercely as the tears began to flow. Don and Leo smiled fondly at the scene.

"Ya know, Klunk won't like it if ya cry too much," Raph said in an unusually soft voice. "Ain't he the one who wanted ta make ya happy in the firs' place?"

Mikey nodded his head against Raph's shoulder and turned to look back at the grave. He watched as Don placed a couple flowers onto the box he had picked from the garden around them. When Don was done, Leo looked to Mikey with a meaningful stare, and Mikey gave the silent approval. Leo started to transfer the soil back into the hole where Klunk now rested. When Leo was finally done, Mikey slipped out from Raph's arm to place a large stone on the top of the grave. He stood up with his back to his brothers, and said to the small mound, "Klunk, you're my best friend. We did a lot of fun stuff together, and although I got blamed for most of the pranks we did…" Mikey paused to sniffle, feeling his voice waiver, "…I a-always…always loved you m-more than…anything…" he cut himself off so he wouldn't have to cry again, but he felt he had so much more to say. He could probably write an entire book with all the awesome things he knew Klunk was. "I'll never forget you, Klunk. Never ever." Mikey walked back to his brothers and gave a tired smile. "Let's go home," he said.

Mikey lead the way back to the lair as Raph and Don trailed behind. Leo was about to follow his brothers when he hesitated for a moment and took one last look at the grave. He gave a sad smile and whispered, "Thank you for loving our little brother just as much as he loved you. Rest in peace, Klunk." He turned away and quickly caught up with his brothers. "Alright," he said in a loud voice, catching the surprised attention of the three turtles that walked ahead of him, "Why don't we break into that tub of cookies Master Splinter has been hiding in his secret stash?"

Don, Mikey, and Raph looked at their older brother incredulously. "Dude, you…" Mikey said, at a loss for words.

"You know where it is? How?" Don asked suspiciously.

"I have my ways…" Leo replied ambiguously.

"Riiiight," Raph gave a sarcastic frown.

Leo hung his arm around Mikey. "Besides, I think we need a little something to cheer ourselves up a bit."

"I'm not seriously depressed or anything, bro. I'll be okay," Mikey said, a bit self-conscious.

"What if I said Sensei has those snickerdoodles you like so much?" Leo pressed.

Mikey stopped short. "Well why didn'tcha say that before? Let's go!"

Mikey pulled Leo and raced off to the lair, with Raph not far behind, shouting "Ya better not eat 'em all, ya shellhead!"

Don chuckled as he continued his leisurely walk to the lair. He heaved a sigh and said, "I hope Mikey will remember that _we're_ still here, and that we'll always love him too."

FIN


End file.
